Lucas Glover clinches FedEx Cup berth with improbable Wyndham Championship win

Lucas Glover is a fighter.

Throughout his career, he has fought through slumps, swing changes, injuries, legal issues with his wife, and winless seasons.

He did win the 2009 U.S. Open—his crowning achievement—but many golf fans have described him as a ‘one-hit wonder’ or a journeyman pro.

Without question, Glover has not had the success that other professionals have achieved, but that should not take away from the fighting spirit that Glover has.

His tenacity was on full display Sunday at the Wyndham Championship, where he battled a desperate field of players looking to make their way into the Top 70 of the FedEx Cup standings. He fought off numerous players, carded a 2-under 68, and emerged victorious at 20-under par.

Perhaps most importantly, Glover’s victory earns him a spot in the playoffs, as he will head to the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis as the 49th-ranked golfer in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Entering the Wyndham Championship, Glover was ranked 112th.

“I don’t get to see [my family] as much as I have wanted to because I have not been playing that great,” Glover told Amanda Renner of CBS Sports after his win. “Maybe I can see more of their practices and games and be home a little more. I am too old to be on the road this much. I have been busting my hump so I can be with them and my wife. I am so happy.”

While being interviewed by Renner, the 43-year-old was joined by his two children, with his daughter holding back tears and exclaiming, “Daddy! Daddy! We won!”

Indeed he did.

Following a two-hour rain delay, Glover had four holes left to play: the par-5 15th, the par-3 16th, and the 17th and 18th, both par 4s.

He calmly made pars on each hole while Russell Henley, the man Glover battled with all day for the lead, could not catch a break and folded down the stretch.

At one point, Henley held the lead at 21-under par. But that did not phase Glover, who stuck to his game, put the ball in the fairway, and calmly made pars.

Henley ended his round with three straight bogeys to finish solo second at 18-under overall.

The one hole Glover did not find the fairway was at the last.

He pulled his tee shot left and then smartly laid up in the fairway with his second shot.

For his third, he faced a 100-yard uphill shot.

The former Clemson Tiger stuck it to 7-feet-8-inches and drained the putt for par, cementing his fifth PGA Tour victory and first since the 2021 John Deere Classic.

Glover fought hard for that par-save on 18—a metaphor for the type of man he is.

He had to battle all day, especially early on, as he looked shaky during the first hour of his round.

At the opening hole, Glover made a sloppy bogey. He made some poor swings soon after that but eventually righted the ship at the par-4 4th, where he stuck his second shot to four inches.

That calmed him down as he proceeded to play the remaining 14 holes bogey-free and in 2-under par.

Now he turns his attention to Memphis next week, where he placed third last year.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.